899 research outputs found

    Portugal: Leapfrogging Digital Transformation

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    This report is structured as follow: Section 1 presents details about Portugal enabling or inhibiting its digital transformation. Section 2 analyzes the main motivations for the digital transformation strategy; Section 3 summarizes its main challenges, while Section 4 presents the main components of the strategy. Section 5 analyzes the governance model, and Section 6, the legal and regulatory framework. Section 7 discusses critical enablers for the digital transformation of government services. Section 8 introduces 16 key initiatives of the strategy. Section 9 summarizes the lessons learnt, followed by an assessment of the strategy’s impact in Section 10. Section 11 synthesizes lessons for Latin American countries. Finally, Appendix A enumerates main legal and regulatory instruments supporting the digital transformation in Portugal, Appendix B presents a set of 18 sections providing details of the initiatives analyzed in the report1, and Appendix C explains how the digital transformation efforts contributed to face the challenges raised by the COVID-19 pandemics.Fil: Estevez, Elsa Clara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Fillottrani, Pablo. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Linares, Sebastián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Economía. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Cledou, Maria Guillermina. Universidade do Minho; Portuga

    Evaluation stasis continues in PR and corporate communication: Asia Pacific insights into causes

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    The first comprehensive study of public relations (PR) and corporate communication practices across Asia-Pacific countries has found that, despite being an area of rapid growth, evaluation remains limited, is often not based on reliable research methods, and is focussed on outputs rather than the outcomes of communication. This reflects a worldwide stasis in evaluation of PR that has been identified as problematic by a number of authors. The Asia-Pacific Communication Monitor, a survey-based study conducted by a collaboration of 16 universities across 23 Asia-Pacific countries in 2015, also explored practitioners’ skills, and found a significant lag that could account for this stasis. This article reports key findings of this study that contribute insights to address the lack of measurement and evaluation in the growing field of PR that remains a major concern in the academy and industry

    Computer-Assisted Language Learning: A Study of EFL Teachers’ Perceptions of University of Sindh, Jamshoro

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    This study aims to investigate EFL teachers’ perceptions on Computer Assisted Language Learning in English language classrooms. For the last 15 years, there has been great interest in researching teachers’ perceptions, thinking and beliefs towards implementation of ICT in English language teaching classrooms. As teachers’ perceptions shape and determine language teaching and learning practice. To investigate the problem, 47 in service teachers of Higher Secondary Schools were taken as participants, out of which there were 14 females and 33 males. A questionnaire was administered among the EFL teachers based on investigation of beliefs and perspectives of EFL teachers. Findings of the study suggest that use of online web chats and other connecting forums are practiced by EFL teachers to interact with the students. Furthermore, preparing lectures to use computers and getting help for material development is highly frequent. Keywords: EFL Teachers’ Perceptions, Computer Assisted Language Learning, implementation of ICT, English language classrooms DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-30-04 Publication date:October 31st 202

    The state of green technologies in South Africa

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    Formation and evolution of vortex rings with weak to moderate swirl and their implications for enhancing vortex ring circulation

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    The formation of swirling vortex rings and their early time evolution, resulting from the controlled discharge of an incompressible fluid into a stationary equivalent fluid bulk, is explored both numerically and experimentally for swirl number S ∈ [0, 1]. For the numerical work, two practically realisable inlet conditions are investigated with swirl simultaneously superposed onto a linear momentum discharge; the corresponding circulation based Reynolds number is 7500. The results reveal that, for S > 1/2, the addition of swirl promotes the breakdown of the leading primary vortex ring structure, giving rise to the striking feature of significant negative vorticity, or opposite sign vorticity (OSV), generation in the region surrounding the primary vortex ring core, whose strength scales with S2. Through a non-linear interaction with the vortex breakdown, the radius of the primary toroidal vortex core is rapidly increased; consequently, the self-induced propagation velocity of the leading ring decreases with S and vortex stretching along the circular primary vortex core increases counteracting viscous diffusion effects. The latter governs the evolution of the peak vorticity intensity and the swirl velocity magnitude in the primary ring core, the circulation growth rate of this ring, as well as the vorticity intensity of the trailing jet and hence its stability. This combination of effects leads to an increased dimensionless kinetic energy for the primary ring with increasing S and results in an almost linearly decreasing circulation based formation number, F. In a rigorous complementary experimental investigation, OSV is observed by introducing swirl using a rotating pipe, varying the time period before the piston stroke to achieve the desired swirl strength at a Reynolds number of 1000. Rotating pipe is found to generate a secondary flow altering the inlet condition. Nevertheless, it is observed, using short periods of pipe rotation and higher angular speed, that it is possible to generate a swirling vortex ring with less OSV production and all the related effects discussed above. The relation between F and the radius of the vortex ring is investigated through manipulation of ring radius growth, achieved through its interaction with a preceding vortex ring. Reducing radius growth, facilitates an increase of the circulation of the vortex ring, which in turn affects its F value

    Exploring the implications of cultural context for design for sustainable behaviour

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    In this thesis the opportunities for designing products that are less resource intensive during use, in different cultural contexts is investigated. The research was divided into four phases: an extensive literature review, an online scoping study, an intensive qualitative study on laundry behaviours, and an international design competition. The research drew on the background of design for sustainable behaviour, a relatively new field of enquiry concerned with reducing the social and environmental impacts of products during their use. Despite the increasing development of theories to change user behaviour through design, there is a lack of understanding of how different cultural contexts affect behaviour. An extensive literature review established the current thinking on culture, development, and behaviour. The diverse nature of everyday household behaviour from different cultures and the effect it has on household resource consumption was uncovered and was investigated further in an online scoping study. In the study, participants from the UK, Brazil and India answered questions related to the themes of food, water, energy, materials and government schemes. The findings helped to highlight the differences in household behaviours and led to more detailed investigation of laundry behaviours in three sites in the UK, Brazil and India using in-context interviews, observations and household tours. From these findings a series of culturally significant and culturally independent factors were established that can aid designers in understanding behaviours in a given context. A set of design guidelines were also created to facilitate the design of less resource intensive products during use. These were then tested with designers in an international design competition answering a brief to design a less resource intensive laundry process. The research suggested a range of benefits for designers studying other cultures. The guidelines and cultural factors created can help designers to build empathy with users in a given context and boost creative thinking for more sustainable solutions. The research also offered insights into the possibility of, and application for, transferring behaviours between contexts as well as a new understanding of the aspirations of consumers in emerging markets, which could support other theories of sustainable development, such as leapfrogging

    The Challenges of Technology and Economic Catch-up in Emerging Economies

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    This book synthesizes and interprets existing knowledge on technology upgrading failures as well as lessons from successes and failures in order to better understand the challenges of technology upgrading in emerging economies. The objective is to bring together in one volume diverse evidence regarding three major dimensions of technology upgrading: paths of technology upgrading, structural changes in the nature of technology upgrading, and the issues of technology transfer and technology upgrading. The knowledge of these three dimensions is being synthesized at the firm, sector, and macro levels across different countries and world macro-regions. Compared to the old and new challenges and uncertainties facing emerging economies, our understanding of the technology upgrading is sparse, unsystematic, and scattered. While our understanding of these issues from the 1980s and 1990s is relatively more systematized, the changes that took place during the globalization and proliferation of GVCs, the effects of the post-2008 events, and the effects of the current COVID-19 and geopolitical struggles on technology upgrading have not been explored and compared synthetically. Moreover, the recent growth slowdown in many emerging economies, often known as a middle-income trap, has reinforced the importance of understanding the technology upgrading challenges of catching-up economies. We believe that the time is ripe for “taking stock of the area” in order to systematize and evaluate the existing knowledge on processes of technology upgrading of emerging economies at the firm, sector, and international levels and to make further inroads in research on this issue. This volume aims to significantly contribute towards this end

    Cultura web 2.0 aplicada en el sector hotelero de Sevilla, para hoteles independientes

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    Internet y las nuevas tecnologías 2.0 están cambiando la forma en la que los consumidores se acercan al sector servicios, y además facilita a los establecimientos hoteleros contactar más fácilmente con sus clientes. Este trabajo de fin de Máster se ha centrado en los hoteles independientes, y como éstos afrontan este nuevo reto. El punto de partida de la investigación ha tratado de averiguar, a través de una prueba piloto, que se está haciendo en la actualidad en estos hoteles. Para finalizar, se propone una aproximación al modelo adecuado para que los hoteles independientes saquen el mayor provecho a la Web 2.0, y maximizar estas nuevas herramientas para poder alcanzar mejor sus objetivos de comunicación promoción, comercialización y venta de productos y servicios hoteleros.Internet and the new technologies are changing the form that the consumers approach the sector services, and more concretely to the sector of the hotels. The new technologies and applications of the Web 2.0, it would facilitate to these establishments to contact easier his consumers. For them one proposes this study as point of item of an investigation that tries to see that they are doing at present these hotels, and to show him as the above mentioned tools them his aims of communication might help to reach better promotion, commercialization and sale of products and hotel services

    Source control SUDS delivery on a global scale and in Scotland including approach by responsible organisations and professional groups

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    Background to researchThe Sustainable Urban Drainage Scottish Working Party via CREW commissioned this work on the implementation of source control for SUDS in Scotland. The project is being carried out by researchers based at Abertay University Dundee involves three phases. These are presented in separate reports; this report covers phase 2 of that work. Source control sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) are an established technique in many parts of the world. Source control SUDS are a key component of what is termed the stormwater treatment train. Source controls manage the more frequent but smaller polluting rainfall events as close to the source as possible (where the rain falls). Site and regional control SUDS are larger downstream structures which manage the longer term rainfall events and provide additional treatment when required. One of the key advantages of managing the more frequent rainfall events at source is that downstream site and regional SUDS will have longer life spans resulting in overall cost efficiencies. Scotland is regarded as a frontrunner in the UK regarding implementation of SUDS with site and regional drainage structures now considered ‘business as usual’. However the uptake of source control is less routine than would be expected.Objectives of researchPhase one of this research looked at the background to the evolution of source control in Scotland to provide an insight into the enabling factors and obstacles for uptake of the systems since. Phase two(this report) appraises delivery of the systems in seven countries and case studies are developed to understand why source control was implemented and how it was achieved. The current delivery by responsible organisations and professional groups which encourage and influence the source control agenda in Scotland is also appraised. Using these findings, the transition pathway from traditional drainage to source control SUDS are reconstructed and mapped out to highlight the historical and current enabling (and disabling) factors to realise the transition to date. A transition framework is used to highlight the transition strengths developed by responsible organisations over the last two decades which had assisted in accelerating the transition.Key findings and recommendationsKey outcomes of this research include:* In Scotland the source control vision and agenda is fragmented due to different stakeholder drivers and funding mechanisms.* There are examples of the use of incentives in Scotland (i.e. legislative, regulatory, financial,social and environmental) to drive integrated agendas. However these have not been successfully showcased to provide the evidence base for encouraging replication and up-scaling of the methodologies and techniques.* There are limited frontier source control SUDS ‘niches’ to nurture innovative techniques such as raingardens – a learning by doing concept. A more focused research agenda to validate these systems as viable sustainable solutions for Scotland would assist in accelerating uptake.* Lack of sector engagement, particularly with the public is a disabling factor for uptake.A final observation from this phase of the study is that requests from various interested parties for CREW / SUDS Working Party to share outputs indicates the need for this research
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